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nTranslator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

nWang Ling roughly calculated that the size of the Xiao Family Compound was about one thousand times the size of the Wang family’s small villa. That was probably equivalent to around one billion packets of crispy noodle snacks spread over the ground.

nAfter construction of the park had been completed several years ago, he had always wanted to come and take a look at the place, but the expensive ticket had always kept him away.

nIn contrast, he preferred to spend the same amount of money on crispy noodle snacks.

nWhile this unexpected date really hadn’t been his idea, he thought it was fine to go out and relax occasionally.

nThere were a few sightseeing spots in the Xiao Family Compound, most of which had come about in the Great Battle Qi era. At that time, the Xiao family had sacrificed a lot to transfer these old buildings into the Xiao Family Compound, and today, these buildings were world-renowned sightseeing spots.

nThe park guide which the Xiao Family Compound had arranged for Lotus Sun and Wang Ling led them through a green passage set up exclusively for distinguished holders of the shareholder card. This was a relief to Wang Ling, who wasn’t used to being so exposed in public.

nThe only awkward thing was that both of them were silent as they walked, which made Lotus Sun feel a little helpless.

nThe female guide leading them had been professionally trained by the Xiao clan, and knew the layout of the park inside out.

nWhen they reached an intersection, the girl stopped and smiled at Wang Ling and Lotus Sun as she said, “Esteemed Mr Wang and Miss Sun, this intersection leads in different directions to three scenic spots: Cosmic Cave, Treasure Cliff and the Stone of Inner Demons. Which one would the both of you like to visit first?”

nWang Ling knew himself very well, and kept silent, quietly waiting for Lotus Sun to make a decision.

nAnd it seemed that Lotus Sun had finally completely accepted the fact that Wang Ling was a person of few words. She knew there was still a long way for her to go in influencing this piece of wood, but at least she had been able to drag him to the park today. Wasn’t this the first crucial step on the path to revolution?

nThere were three sightseeing spots: Cosmic Cave, Treasure Cliff and the Stone of Inner Demons.

nLotus Sun had heard of all three of them, but she hadn’t visited any, and didn’t know what they were about.

nBefore coming to the Xiao Family Compound, Lotus Sun had done some research online, but had only looked at Internet reviews and comments. Cosmic Cave was a tremendous hit, and was popular with guys.

n“It wasn’t easy to invite Classmate Wang Ling out this time, so I have to try my best!”

nIn the end, it was about catering to Wang Ling, so Lotus Sun quickly made the decision. “Then let’s go to Cosmic Cave first!”

n“Very well, Miss Lotus Sun.”

nThe female guide nodded.

nWang Ling and Lotus Sun then got on a bus arranged for them at the intersection, and they traveled straight through the green passage to the entrance of the scenic spot.

nWhen the bus stopped by the side of a stone tablet inscribed with the words “Cosmic Cave,” Lotus Sun asked doubtfully, “Why isn’t there anyone here?”

nThe female guide smiled. “Initially, Cosmic Cave was closed today for maintenance. But Miss Sun holds a shareholder card, so special exceptions can be made.”

n“I see!” Lotus Sun nodded.

nFollowing the guide, they walked for not more than fifty meters to reach the mouth of Cosmic Cave.

nWang Ling stared left and right at the mouth of the cave as a cool wind whistled past him from time to time. The spirit energy here was so thin that it was almost negligible, and it was now a very ordinary cave formation.

nDuring the Great Battle Qi era, the stone walls of the cave had been eroded unevenly by the wind. Apart from its age, he couldn’t see anything special about it.

nA common cave like this could actually become a national place of interest. Either the Huaxiu National Tourism Bureau was blind, or there had to be some inside story to it…

nThe female guide smiled slightly. “Let me explain the legend of Cosmic Cave to Miss Sun and Mr Wang.”

nWang Ling and Lotus Sun both nodded, all ears.

n“In the first two eras of the cultivation world, which we also know as the Great Battle Qi era and the second phase of the Spirit Energy era, the world was still very chaotic, with the human, demon and monster races all mixed together as one. It wasn’t until the Spirit Energy Information era that the human race opened the Gate Between Worlds and drove out the demons and the monsters. Before that, many cultivators had been wounded in the fighting, and they hid in Cosmic Cave.”

nThe female guide explained very seriously, “In the Great Battle Qi era, there was a panacea called Cosmic Grass which could be found in Cosmic Cave. This panacea was wonderful for healing wounds, but it was also a… sexual stimulant. Unaware of this, quite a number of female cultivators ate the Cosmic Grass, leading to the accumulation of blood from intercourse in the cave. Therefore, Cosmic Cave is also called Blood Cave, or Matchmaking Cave, since it brought together countless pairs of cultivators through various kinds of coincidences.”

nIn an instant, Lotus Sun’s face turned red. “…”

nSo this was the main reason why Cosmic Cave had gotten so many positive reviews? This was too damn ridiculous!

nThe guide had been specially groomed by the Xiao clan to be of service to dignitaries. The fact that she was able to explain such a legend so solemnly was undoubtedly because she had done so hundreds of times. Even Wang Ling was stunned — he had thought it would be a pretty serious story, but who would have thought the tone would change so quickly…

nOf course, Cosmic Cave wasn’t the only oddity in the Xiao Family Compound.

nAfterwards, Wang Ling and Lotus Sun visited Treasure Cliff, the Stone of Inner Demons, and the very famous ancient auction house. These were all classic relics of cultivation that had been preserved for thousands of years, along with the shameful history of past generations of cultivators.

nLegend had it that people who jumped down from Treasure Cliff would without fail obtain ancient hidden treasures. But according to modern scientific research, the old cultivators who claimed that they had obtained these treasures had actually been suffering severe schizophrenia.

nThe Stone of Inner Demons was where ancient cultivators took an oath on their inner demons. Once they swore the oath, they could never ever violate it, no matter what happened. But in the Spirit Energy Information era, the existence of inner demons was completely refuted as an extremely unreliable cultivation superstition.

nDuring the Great Battle Qi era and Spirit Energy era, almost all the powerful cultivators in history had had world-shaking experiences at the auction house. If they didn’t splurge hundreds of billions of yuan there, they would be too embarrassed to say that they were patriarchs of that era. Nevertheless, according to current historical research, auction numbers had actually been exaggerated, and were nowhere as excessive as stated in legend.

nSomething else worth mentioning was that the widely spread belief in ancient texts that one could be promoted to the Foundation Establishment stage by consuming a Foundation Establishment elixir was utter nonsense. This was like a laopo bing with no laopo , pork meatballs with no pork, or fuqi feipian with nofuqi 1 .

nThey had gone through the entire Xiao Family Compound.

nWang Ling and Lotus Sun both had mixed feelings as they finally understood something about these damn scenic spots in the compound.

nWhat they had seen today wasn’t purely just scenery…

nIt was actually the whole of Huaxiu nation’s shame on the thousand-year-old path of cultivation.

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